Davenport Library trustees approve director evaluation, hear "library of things" rollout and review programming policy

The Davenport City Library Board of Trustees approved the library director's performance evaluation on Nov. 18 after a closed-session review and spent most of its open meeting on operational reports and a presentation of a newly expanded "library of things."

In his director's report, Jeff said the library's "stat of the month" showed a return on investment of 64.4 percent — "for every dollar that's spent on the library, taxpayers gain $1.64 value," he said — amounting to an estimated $10.2 million in community value for fiscal 2025, up from about $9.7 million the prior year. He also listed facility work underway, including a nearly-complete glycol conversion for the main library chiller and a roof replacement at Fairmount, and announced a Richardson-Sloan Special Collection ribbon-cutting set for Dec. 12 at 1:30 p.m.

Trustees reviewed a draft of the programming policy scheduled for its three-year review. Jeff said the policy frames guidelines for roughly 1,400 annual programs attended by about 35,000 people and clarified that many events are collaborations with outside organizations; trustees asked staff to confirm the automated acknowledgement for submitted program proposals and pressed staff about security planning and the distinction between library-run candidate forums and private groups using meeting rooms. The board did not vote on the policy and expects to consider it for approval at next month's meeting.

Board members received a demonstration of the library's "library of things," funded in part by a Friends fundraiser that raised more than $15,000. Presenter Lexi showed sample items — from cake pans and gardening kits to an electric drum kit, disc-golf sets and a bicycle-repair kit — and described cataloging, circulation (one-week loans), and replacement procedures for missing parts. She said the collection has already seen circulation at Main and Eastern branches and will reach Fairmount soon as part of a phased rollout.

Trustees raised practical concerns about staff workload for cataloging and checking multi-piece kits, how damage or missing parts would be handled (the patron pays for replacement pieces in many cases; some replacements come from a library's bank of spare parts or directly from manufacturers), and reciprocal-borrowing limits for patrons from neighboring systems. Jeff said staff have existing procedures from techno- and board-game collections and will continue refining the process.

Near the meeting's end, the board voted to go into closed session "pursuant to Iowa codes 21.51 dash 1 1 dash I to evaluate performance of [the] library director." After returning to open session, trustees moved and seconded approval of the director's evaluation; the chair called the roll and the motion passed.

The board also approved the consent agenda (minutes and financial reports) at the start of the meeting. The board adjourned after approving the evaluation.

The programming policy draft, the director's full report and the library-of-things implementation plan will return to the board at its next regular meeting; staff said they will share any city-legal guidance on employee indemnification related to a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling when it is available.